Buried Deep and Other Stories is a fantastic smorgasbord for fans of Naomi Novik’s writing. It features several stories set in the same universes as her novels, as well as others that draw upon a wide swath of history and literature. You liked Novik’s Scholomance Trilogy (2020-2022)? There’s a story in here set after the end of the series. A fan of her novel Spinning Silver (2018)? You can read the prototype short story version of it here. Enjoyed her Napoleonic-Wars-with-dragons series Temeraire (2006-2016)? There are two stories here set in that world, too.
All of this is a goldmine if you are already a well-read Novik fan. But if terms like Scholomance and Temeraire mean nothing to you, this collection might not resonate so deeply. To be fair, though, most of the stories in this book are standalone tales with no connection to Novik’s novels. The collection even begins with one of these. “Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake” is a swashbuckling adventure set in a fantasy world similar to Regency Europe. In it, a headstrong young woman named Araminta is being shipped off to marry a stranger. Before she reaches her betrothed, her ship is attacked by pirates! She puts on a talisman that her family gifted her, one she was told only to wear in case of emergency in order to protect her virtue. The talisman transforms Araminta’s form into that of a man, and though she still gets taken hostage by the pirates, she manages to woo the captain and soon is having a grand adventure of her own making. It’s a really fun start to the book and showcases Novik’s wit.
It’s followed by “After Hours,” a story set in Novik’s Scholomance universe. I admit, I have not read A Deadly Education (2020) or any of its sequels, and at first it was a bit hard-going getting into this story without that background. But the central conflict is relatable: Beata is a teenage girl stuck with a roommate she hates. What makes things more dire is that Beata is attending a dangerous magic school, and being on the outs with a popular girl like Jayne could make it near impossible for Beata to survive the school year. The second half of this story is intense as Beata and a friend sneak out after curfew to grab potion ingredients. The setting truly has a dangerous, haunted house feel, and though the ending is a bit rote (a main character from the series proper saves the day), it’s still a relief.
After the intensity of “After Hours” comes “Vici,” a story in the Temeraire world set in ancient Roman times. It’s a fun, light story, without much to it. Later in the collection is “Dragons & Decorum,” a more substantial Temeraire tale that is also a Pride and Prejudice (1813) retelling. In this version of the story, Lizzie is Captain Elizabeth Bennet, a dragon rider who, with her dragon Wollstonecraft, serves King and Country in the Aerial Corps. It’s a delightful story, though I might be biased as, like Naomi Novik, I am a big Pride and Prejudice fan. Heck, this is the second P&P retelling I’ve read this year (the first one being Most Ardently [2024], a queer retelling by Gabe Cole Novoa). But I feel like the plot of Jane Austen’s novel is such a finely tuned clock that any changes—whether they be Seth Grahame-Smith’s zombies (2009) or Novik’s dragons—upset the story’s mechanics in a way that make the reframing less satisfying than the original. Still, near the end of the story I did begin to grow worried that Lizzie’s duty to the Aerial Corps would keep her from finding a happy ending with Mr. Darcy. It speaks a lot to Novik’s skill that, even in a retelling, for a moment she made me wonder how things would shake out.
“Dragons & Decorum” isn’t the only story where Novik explores a classic piece of literature. In “Commonplaces” she writes a story centering on Irene Adler, an iconic character from the Sherlock Holmes story “A Scandal in Bohemia” (1891). This story to me is the weakest in the collection: With its lack of speculative elements, it seems out of step with everything else present. I also don’t agree with Novik’s take on Irene and Sherlock’s relationship: The story takes it in a romantic/sexual direction and I always read their connection as a purely cerebral one. Aside from that, there are character flourishes that are good enough that they are my personal cannon now (for example, when Irene reads of Sherlock’s death, she is stunned at first but quickly deduces that he has faked it).
After “Vici” comes “Buried Deep,” the titular story and Novik’s retelling on the Minotaur myth. The story focus on Ariadne, who in this version is not only the Minotaur’s sister but also a priestess charged with guarding the labyrinth. Novik’s take on the myth is novel: This isn’t a story about a hero and a monster but about a brother and a sister. It has a bittersweet, elegiac feel to it that sets it apart from the more daring-do stories in this collection.
Novik is primarily a fantasy writer, but her SF story “Seven Years from Home” makes me wish she would expand it into a full novel. The main character, Ruth, is a citizen of the Confederacy, a sprawling space empire that is determined to expand its territory and bring the entire universe under its boot. Ruth is sent to a world that has not yet come under control of the Confederacy. This inhospitable alien planet has long been settled by humans, who fall into two camps: the Esperigans who build spaceports and cities in order to survive, and the Melidans, who have altered their bodies to better co-exist with the planet. Tensions are high between the two groups, and it’s in the Confederacy’s interest for the two factions to fight and weaken each other. Ruth has been sent to “aid” the Melidans, which is to say keep them on an even footing with the Esperigans but never allow them to secure an all-out victory. As Ruth grows closer to the Melidan people, she can’t help but admire their way of life. Yet she also never abandons her loyalty to the Confederacy. The first-person narration is a great choice here, as we hear directly from Ruth about how she is able to square two seemingly contradictory goals in her head.
The last story in the collection, “The Long Way Around,” is a story about a brother and sister who decide to sail “the long way around” their world—that is, through the “empty,” a wide expanse of ocean that has never been explored. If anyone can achieve this, it’s Tess and Aston: Tess is a premier sailor/navigator and Aston is a supremely gifted boat builder. When a wizard expresses interest in funding their trip, it both smooths the way but also makes things more difficult, as said wizard insists on coming along. The world Novik creates here is vivid and exciting. In her author’s notes Novik says this story is her way of feeling out the setting and narrative frame of a new world, implying we might get a novel set here one day. It’s a nice note to end the collection on, a promise of things to come.
There are several stories in this collection that I haven’t touched on, but they are all gems and worth picking up this collection and discovering for yourself. In fact, Buried Deep was a bit of a slow read for me, since after every story I had to put it down: I wanted to luxuriate in each story, to spend more time (if only in my own head) in each world before bounding off to the next one. There’s a reason why Naomi Novik is such a beloved writer, and the short stories here showcase her wit, creativity, and ability to craft memorable characters and worlds. The collection feels like a curated gift for Novik fans. Newcomers might flounder a bit when it comes to the stories referencing the author’s more established works, but if they’re willing to wander into parts unknown, they will find lots of interesting new worlds to discover.